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President Bob Mong

UNT Dallas President, Robert "Bob" Mong

University of North Texas at Dallas President Robert "Bob" Mong is leading UNTD’s efforts to help students blaze a pathway toward social mobility. Named the third president of UNT Dallas in 2015, the University has achieved record enrollment numbers under Mong, as it transforms into a residential campus and deepens its role as a community-changing force in South Dallas and beyond.

Perched on a hilltop, overlooking the Downtown Dallas skyline, UNTD is the only public, accredited 4-year university in the City of Dallas. Serving a city and region that is the fastest-growing job market in America outside of New York is a huge responsibility, but UNT Dallas and its President dream big and the University hasn’t backed down from a challenge since its establishment in 2010.

Under Mong, who previously served as Editor in Chief of the Dallas Morning News, the University has set lofty strategic goals for growth, fundraising and community involvement in a traditionally underserved area. UNTD has a diverse student population (41% Hispanic, 35% African-American, and 17% white) and offers its students the opportunity to earn bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees, as well as a juris doctor degree from its Downtown Dallas law school.

The President and his leadership team have made steady progress toward these goals while fulfilling the university’s mission to empower students, transform lives and strengthen communities. UNT Dallas announced record enrollment in Fall 2016 of more than 3,000 students. The enrollment increase went from 2,488 last fall to 3,026 in the fall, a 17.78 percent change. Enrollment has increased since Mong’s arrival at UNTD and is projected to exceed 5,000 students by 2021.

UNT Dallas isn’t just growing its enrollment under Mong, its tree-lined 264-acre campus is transforming physically as a strategic campus master plan gradually fills out. The university’s first residence hall is set to open in August, 2017, and a new $63 million student center is also under construction. The main campus in South Dallas is now served by DART light rail, making UNTD more accessible than ever. Future projects include an amphitheater that will look out on UNT Dallas’ beautiful wooded campus, as well as a recreation center and arena that will be accessible to students and the public, while also serving as home to a new intercollegiate athletics program.

In Downtown Dallas, the UNT Dallas College of Law’s historic, soon-to-be home – the former Dallas City Hall at 106 S. Harwood St. – is undergoing $56 million transformation to house the City’s only public law school. This historic renovation will be completed in 2018 and comes on top of a recently-completed $15 million exterior renovation of the building by the City of Dallas.

As part of Mong’s vision, UNT Dallas is broadening its offerings in health care, business, arts and science, education and human services management. Community partnerships for the University – including those with school districts and community colleges – are at an all-time high, and a record number of grants are in the pipeline to help fund new, innovative programs at UNTD.

When asked what drew the UNT System to Mong, Chancellor Lee Jackson pointed not only to a successful track record in journalism, but also in business while leading the Morning News.

“Bob’s been not only a journalist, but a business leader for the Belo Corporation in a changing industry that has some similarities to higher education,” Jackson said. “He’s a thought leader and is known and respected by community thought leaders.”

Before joining UNT Dallas, Mong worked as a journalist for 44 years, most of it at The Dallas Morning News where he served as the paper’s Managing Editor and later as Editor in Chief. During his time in news leadership, the paper won nine Pulitzer Prizes and named Pulitzer finalist 16 other times. He also gained significant business experience as the paper’s general manager and before that as CEO and publisher of the then company-owned Owensboro (Ky.) Messenger-Inquirer.

Throughout his business and journalism career, higher education was Mong’s principal outlet for volunteer activities. He developed volunteer ties to UNT Denton, UT-Arlington, UT-Dallas, SMU, Austin College, UT-Austin and LSU – among other institutions. Since 2000, Mong has chaired the board of visitors at the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU. He has been active at UNT Denton since the presidency of Al Hurley in the late 1990s and helped start the Mayborn Literary Non Fiction Conference at UNT.

While serving as The News’ managing editor, Mong chaired the Minorities Committee of what is now the American Society of News Editors. He also chaired the society’s Human Resources Committee. In 2014 Mong attracted a $250,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to create the Hispanic Families Network. The network trains Hispanic parents in three Dallas neighborhoods to report on early childhood education issues. The News partnered with SMU to train participating parents.

Mong served as chairman of The Dallas Morning News Charities from 1998 to 2015, raising money for the hungry and homeless in North Texas. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Southern Dallas Task Force, a group that engages in specific projects intended to promote the Southern Sector as a business location.

A 1971 graduate of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, he attended on a Scott Paper Company scholarship. He received the Archibald Macintosh Award for scholarship, integrity and academic achievement. He captained both the school’s football and baseball teams and his .357 batting average ranks 10th all-time at Haverford.

Mong attended Stanford University’s Executive Program in the Graduate School of Business. He is married to former Los Angeles Times reporter Diane Reischel, and they have two adult children – Eric, who attends medical school, and Elizabeth, a divinity school student.